Top Chef Season Five - Episode 9
“Restaurant Wars” - All’s Fair in Love and War
Jan 23, 2009 Kimberly Kunaniec
In last week’s episode of Top Chef: New York, Ariane Duarte was asked to pack her knives and go. Some of the remaining chefs question the way she was thrown under the bus by her teammates, while others point to the fact that she did not defend herself during Judge’s Table.
Quickfire Challenge
The contestants enter the Top Chef kitchen and find host Padma Lakshmi and guest judge Stephen Starr. Padma does not waste any time telling the chefs that with eight contestants left, they were beginning one of the most noted Top Chef challenges, Restaurant Wars. For their Quickfire Challenge, each chef was given thirty minutes to create a dish which showcased the concept that they would use when opening a restaurant. The two winning chefs will become the Chef/Owners of the Restaurant War teams.
While some of the chefs were excited for this Quickfire, others were more hesitant and nervous to win. Jamie Lauren pointed out that most of the time, the leader of the teams was the one sent home during Restaurant Wars. In the end, Fabio Viviani and Jeff McInnis were chosen as the bottom two. Leah Cohen and Radhika Desai won the challenge and got to select their teams. No immunity was granted this week.
Elimination Challenge
After the Quickfire Challenge, the chefs are given $5000 per team to shop and Pier One Imports for linens and décor to suit their concept. The next day they are taken to Whole Foods and Restaurant Depot. The restaurants will be opening at Bridgewaters. Radhika’s team has trouble deciding who should be in the front of house. Though she seems to want Jeff to take the role, he is against it and she never puts her foot down over the decision.
Throughout the season, a friendship has developed between Hosea Rosenberg and Leah. Many of the other contestants have noticed chemistry between them; though they both have significant others back home. However, the pair ended up kissing while working on the menu. There was a notable tension between them the next day as guilt set in over the fact that they have cheated on people.
The judges first went to Radhika’s Sahana restaurant. One of the most obvious problems that the restaurant had was poor service. Head judge Tom Colicchio noted that if they were to leave when they finished dessert, no one was at the hostess stand to say good-bye to them. Next, they visited Leah’s Sunset Lounge. The judges had to send back some of Leah’s fish because it was undercooked, leading to a meltdown in the kitchen. However, they loved the dessert courses, which are usually a problem for contestants on Top Chef.
Judge’s Table
The teams were close in this challenge, with the judges split on who should win. While they preferred the appetizers and main courses from Radhika’s team, the desserts and service from Leah’s team were far better. Ultimately, those two components were what put Leah’s team in the winning position. Stefan Richter created all the dessert items while Fabio used his charm and Italian accent to deal with the guests. Stefan was selected as the winner and won a set of GE Monogram appliances like the ones on the Top Chef kitchen.
Radhika’s team, Sahana, was called in next. While the judges enjoyed the dishes that Jeff and Lauren prepared, they were disappointed with Radhika’s service and with the desserts made by Carla Hall. Much of the questioning had to do with Radhika’s leadership role and the fact that she left her team to their own plans even though she was supposed to be the Chef/Owner. After deliberation, they decided that lack of leadership and poor service were the main reason that this team failed, and Radhika was asked to pack her knives and go.
Stay tuned for the next episode of Bravo’s hit reality series, Top Chef: New York. With just seven chefs still in the running, every dish becomes more important. New episodes air on Wednesday nights at 10 PM. Visit the Top Chef: New York Page for more episode summaries, cast profiles, and gossip on the show.
Host Padma Lakshmi
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Judge Toby Young Replaced Gail Simmons this Season
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